The Neelakuyil music director would’ve turned 100 on December 2 this year

Veteran Malayalam music composer K Raghavan Master passed away while under treatment at a hospital in Kannur early Saturday. He was 99, and would have turned 100 on December 2, his family said.

Raghavan Master was admitted to the hospital Friday evening, after he complained of breathlessness. His friends and family were readying an intimate, modest, musical celebration of his 100th birthday.

Raghavan Master’s cremation will take place at Tellichery on Sunday.

In a career spanning over four decades, Raghavan Master composed music for more than 400 Malayalam film songs, and his compositions featured in more than 60 films. The music he scored for Neelakuyil, released 1954, is often remembered.

Raghavan Master began his professional career with All India Radio in Chennai, and was transferred to Kozhikode in Kerala in 1950.

He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2010. He was also the recipient of two Kerala State Film awards. In 1997, he won the JC Daniel Award for lifetime contribution to the Malayalam film industry.